Forget Wikileaks. The Air Force doesn’t need help in spilling secrets — it delivers confidential bid data directly to competing defense contractors. An Air Force clerical error sent Boeing bidding information to competitor EADS and vice versa, fouling up the $40 billion contract for a mid-air refueling tanker plane that has been delayed for a decade.
The tanker dogfight began in 2001, when ex-fighter pilot Senator John McCain (R-AZ) shot down a Boeing deal. In the bidding war that followed, Boeing offered a job to the Air Force officer running the bid. Two Boeing execs were went down in flames and did jail time, and the firm’s CEO quit.
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